Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California
Deposition and Transcript
I am pro se. I did not have an attorney present. I was in a deposition where I was asked questions. I later received a copy of the transcript but found that several sentences were either omitted or not as I said them. (I was very particular in how I phrased a certain sentence.) I had a digital voice recorder in my shirt pocket for the depostion and it of course accurately captured my answers. I didn't mention the DVR to the opposing attorney.
1) What if anything can I do to correct the written transcript of the deposition?
2) Is my DVR recording of the deposition admissable as evidence?
3) Is transcription supposed to be 100% accurate?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Deposition and Transcript
Feel free to properly note and give notice of your alleged corrections to the transcript, but you were committing a crime by recording anyone without their consent. Disclosure of that recording could put you in jail and/or get you sanctioned. It certainly is NOT admissible. There is no way you could obtain consent to tape in a depo, it is against the court rules.
Re: Deposition and Transcript
You get the usual whack on the knuckles with my ruler for being pro se, but it was smart for you to record the depo. Here is what you do. First, correct your deposition by providing the court reporter with a list of changes by page and line number. Then get a certified transcriber to transcribe the audio tape, if it is audible. Then, when you go to trial and their attorney tries to use the depo against you, that's when you (preferably your attorney) whips out the audiotape in a Perry Mason moment of drama. Note that you should not withhold the tape if by some chance they specifically ask for or subpoena it during the discovery process. Maybe there will be another depo and they will try the same thing again. Maybe a court reporter will wind up losing his or her license.
Related Questions & Answers
Looking for something else?
10,200 active attorneys ready to answer your legal questions today.
Featured Attorneys
Earn additional revenue and grow your business.
